Call for head of “obstructive” top civil servant

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Sir John Elvidge, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish government, was “inaccurate, obstructive and discourteous” in evidence to Holyrood committee, MSPs find.

Scotland's top civil servant was last night coming under pressure from MSPs to resign after an unprecedented attack on him by a Holyrood committee which described his evidence as “totally unacceptable”.

The Scottish Parliament's public audit committee branded Sir John Elvidge, Permanent Secretary to the Scottish government, and other senior civil servants “discourteous and obstructive” and accused Sir John of providing it with “wholly inaccurate” information.

The committee made the scathing criticisms of Sir John and his colleagues in its long-awaited report on the extension last year of First Groups £2.5 billion franchise to operate train services in Scotland -